The IRIS (Interprofessional Research In Sexual & Reproductive Health) Academy: preparing interprofessional graduate students to conduct translational research on reproductive and sexual health

Delivering high-quality care to individuals with reproductive and sexual health concerns requires interprofessional collaboration, clinically-informed research, and research-informed practice. Yet: 1) many clinical learners have limited research curricula as a part of their graduate training, and 2) many researchers have limited opportunities to collaborate with clinicians and community members during training. Bridging the gap between interprofessional clinicians and researchers during graduate training has the potential to inspire clinicians to contribute to research that can improve the lives of individuals with reproductive and sexual health conditions and better prepare researchers to engage with community members and clinicians to further meaningful, patient- centered translational science. The IRIS (Interprofessional Research In Sexual & Reproductive Health) Academy will prepare interprofessional graduate students to identify gaps in knowledge about healthcare access and quality for reproductive and sexual health, and to conduct translational research that furthers science-based personalized medicine. Our team will create a longitudinal research training program taught by interdisciplinary professionals for graduate and post-graduate trainees in sociology, psychology, public health, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, social work and counseling. Asynchronous modules will focus on foundational research methods, research ethics, identifying patient-centered drivers of healthcare access and quality, and social and structural drivers of health and healthcare delivery. We will expand an academic community advisory board to inform content and recruit graduate students and post-graduate trainees (interns, residents, fellows) from across our region. We will also form a community of practice among regional researchers that can also serve as mentors to scholars. Our efforts will be evaluated using summative and participant-engaged formative performance methods with quantitative and qualitative data. Specifically, we plan to study the impact of the program on science identity and self-efficacy, research motivation, and preparedness for interprofessional translational research.